Now that Lindsay Lohan’s new low-budget ($200,000) piece of erotica, The Canyons, has been released, and Miley Cyrus has posed for Notion Magazine in her underwear, it might be useful to look at how the Disney Channel and fellow corrupter of
Hollywood has changed, and it will never be the same thanks to the arrival of the Internet and the fragmentation of content distribution. Producer Lynda Obst’s new book, Sleepless in Hollywood, chronicles the author’s transition from what she terms the
Everybody needs to get paid. I understand that. We all have bills, and money is a cool thing to have. If I got a call from Warner Bros. Entertainment tomorrow, and they asked me to write them a modern House
Liberal screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has another project to spread his ideological views to the masses. The Newsroom creator’s Chicago 7 project is finally a go with Paul Greengrass in final negotiations to direct. The modestly budgeted $20M-$30M film will start
By SANDY COHENAP Entertainment WriterSAN DIEGOMoviegoers were ready for a fright this weekend, sending “The Conjuring” into first place at the box office. The Warner Bros. haunted-house horror–based on a true story–debuted with $41.5 million in North American ticket sales,
The approximately 500 “Justice For Trayvon” protesters in Washington, D.C., on Saturday heard calls from progressive speakers for specific boycott actions they want to use force Florida and other states to eliminate “Stand Your Ground” laws. Even though such self-defense
(AP) Mattel 2Q profit falls, Barbie sales slide againBy MAE ANDERSONAP Business WriterNEW YORKVampy teen Monster High dolls are taking a bite out of squeaky-clean Barbie. Mattel said Wednesday its second-quarter net income fell 24 percent, hurt by a continued
(AP) Screen violence remains a big hit with the public, despite calls for the entertainment industry to tone it down in the aftermath of the mass shootings at Aurora, Colo., Newtown, Conn, and elsewhere in the U.S. during the last
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – Police are attributing an unusual motivation to a man arrested and accused of stealing the identities of 50 people. According to the Lincolnshire Police Department, Alexander Pera (pictured above) fraudulently procured gift cards, cash and prepaid
The Lone Ranger is no match for a group of nattering yellow creatures known to film fans as “Minions.” The western reboot, a P.C. affair driven by the creative team behind the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, is losing the
We’ve seen a few fantastic animated films released this year. DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods was original and fun and last month Disney Pixar’s Monsters University, the satisfying prequel to the 2001 film, brought in over $170 million at the box office. Universal Pictures’
By DERRIK J. LANGAP Entertainment WriterLOS ANGELESSandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy brought “The Heat” against Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx at the box office. The Fox action-comedy starring the funny ladies as mismatched detectives earned $40 million in second place
As is the pattern with former Disney child stars who once represented the force of innocence and then moved to the dark side, Miley Cyrus released a new single on Monday with apparent references to using cocaine, ecstasy and strippers.
By SANDY COHENAP Entertainment WriterLOS ANGELESIt used to be that if a summer flick starred Will Smith, it was a guaranteed moneymaker: First place at the box office, maybe a franchise in the making. But the 44-year-old actor’s latest film
It’s not nearly as bad as its box-office thud and scathing reviews would suggest. “After Earth” is a very straightforward sci-fi tale about a young man earning his father’s respect, a task made more difficult because the boy is traumatized
The 17-year periodical cicadas are supposed to be bad this year, leaving their shells on trees and keeping people awake at night with their singing. So it’s fitting that Epic too arrives in 2013. Epic, a wheeling, action-filled tale based
ESPN is reportedly laying off 400 employees–or roughly 10% of its workforce–on Tuesday. According to a report that originated on TheBigLead.com and the Gawker-owned sports rumor site Deadspin – and picked up by other outlets like Variety and Business Insider
By JILL LAWLESSAssociated PressLONDON J.J. Abrams is master of one universe–and he’s about to try conquering another. The director who rebooted “Star Trek” for a new generation, sending the USS Enterprise out again to explore strange new worlds, has also
The feisty Merida in Pixar’s Brave didn’t look like every other Disney heroine. Her unruly red hair defied easy styling, and her figure hardly fit in the Barbie mold we so often see on screen. Now, Disney is giving Merida
By DAVID GERMAINAP Movie WriterLOS ANGELESIron Man reigns as the standard-bearer of Hollywood superheroes with a $175.3 million domestic opening weekend for his latest sequel and an overseas haul of a half-billion dollars in less than two weeks. According to
The Mandarin didn’t stand a chance. Neither did any other movie playing in theaters this weekend. Iron Man 3, the superhero sequel that kicked off the summer movie season Friday, crushed both the box office competition as well as a
Since Senator Marco Rubio unveiled his long anticipated immigration reform bill, many pro-legal immigration supporters have harshly criticized the bill as being nothing less than amnesty for illegal immigrants. Rubio has pushed back and has countered his critics by trying
Marvel’s Iron Man 3 is expected to start the summer move season with a repulsor blast of box office power. Tell that to members of the American Federation of Musicians, a union protesting the company’s use of foreign musicians in
Seeking to “hit him hard,” the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and acting president Trita Parsi brought a frivolous defamation lawsuit against a critic. Now they face a $183,480.09 fine to his legal defense. On April 8th D.C. District Court
Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi didn’t bomb the Boston Marathon, according to the New York Daily News. The 20-year-old Saudi man who has been seen as a “person of interest” to authorities in the Boston terror attack remains hospitalized with injuries from
By FRAZIER MOOREAssociated PressNEW YORKAnnette Funicello, who became a child star as a perky, cute-as-a-button Mouseketeer on “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s, then teamed up with Frankie Avalon on a string of ’60s fun-in-the-sun movies with names like
(AFP) A sequel to animated fish saga “Finding Nemo” is set to splash onto the big screen in North America in November 2015, Disney Pixar announced Tuesday. “Finding Dory” will focus on the character brought to life by the voice
By CHRISTY LEMIREAP Movie WriterLOS ANGELESThe caveman comedy “The Croods” left an indelible mark on the wall, opening at No. 1 with $44.7 million, according to Sunday studio estimates. The 3-D adventure from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox features
By DERRIK J. LANGAP Entertainment WriterLOS ANGELESLindsay Lohan accepted a plea deal on Monday in a misdemeanor car crash case that includes 90 days in a locked-down rehabilitation facility that she won’t be able to leave. The 26-year-old actress, who
The History Channel’s new miniseries The Bible proved anew the power of faith-based content to draw eyeballs. The new independent film Emperor, starring Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur, scored a tidy $1 million at the box office over
By DERRIK J. LANGAP Entertainment WriterLOS ANGELES Disney’s 3-D prequel to the classic L. Frank Baum tale “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” debuted in first place and earned $80.3 million at the weekend box office in the U.S. and Canada
Disney executives may be the only roadblock between ESPN and Keith Olbermann. According to a report in BigLeadSports, a site that in the past has been very credible with its reporting on the inner workings of the network, ESPN President
By JAKE COYLEAP Entertainment WriterNEW YORKIt appears the Force is still strong with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. In an interview posted online Thursday, George Lucas said the trio from the original “Star Wars” trilogy will reprise their
At a shareholder Q&A Wednesday, Disney/ABC CEO Bob Iger met a shareholder unhappy over ABC News’ bias, specifically an attack on the Tea Party that ended up being horribly wrong [emphasis added]: When it came time for a general Q&A,
Disney’s “Oz the Great and Powerful,” which was filmed in California and Michigan, had an estimated budget of $200 million, $39.7 million of which was subsidized by the state’s taxpayers in the form of Michigan film credits. The movie was filmed
Last week, out of all 94 cable channels measured by Nielsen for ratings, Fox News ranked fourth, just behind History, USA, and Disney. MSNBC came in 23rd, CNN 36th, HLN 34th, and Current TV dead last. Ratings are so low
Lucasfilm officials rushed to President Barack Obama’s side earlier this week after the president committed the ultimate geek gaffe–he confused Star Wars with Star Trek. It’s hardly a surprise to see a part of Hollywood playing defense for the administration
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 15 (UPI) — Hollywood screen icon Harrison Ford is to reprise his role of intergalactic smuggler Han Solo in an upcoming “Star Wars” sequel, Latino Review reported Friday. Ford, 70, played the handsome, wisecracking hero in “Star
(AP) ‘Identity Thief’ swipes No. 1 spot with $36.6MBy DAVID GERMAINAP Movie WriterLOS ANGELES The comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy debuted at No. 1 with a $36.6 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The previous weekend’s
Disney’s animated classic Peter Pan could have suffered from today’s politically correct prism. The 1953 animated film depicts Native Americans in a fashion that would never pass muster today. The film’s new Blu-ray release keeps every element of the film
